Sant Joan can be celebrated with big fires and a huge amount of people on the beaches of Barcelona. I celebrated it with a few friends, here in Vilanova. Judging from the noise level we reached in our small town, I am grateful that I did not look for anything wilder.
Catalans will agree that one characteristic feature which they have in common with people from other parts of Spain, is the love for anything that booms or explodes. It is almost as if the size of the fireworks and the loudness of the crackers are decisive factors for a the reputation of a place, something we are reminded of now in the summer when each town celebrates its festa major. Luckily enough, these parties are held at different dates, so people who prefer calm can easily go to a different town for the night.
During Sant Joan there is no escape, at least not here in Catalonia. To make things worse, this is not like New Years Eve, when most pyrotechnics go off at a certain time. Already many days before the event do we have to live with regular explosions, in the town centre as well as on the beach. When the actual celebrations take place in the evening of the 23rd of June, the sound background bears more resemblance with a war report on TV, than with the national festivities I am used to from Sweden.
A true Sant Joan party, verbena, can be held anywhere outdoors but preferably around a bonfire. The fire has the symbolic effect of clearing up the skies and scaring away evil spirits but also is, practically enough in a country where apartments are small, a good opportunity for people to get rid of old furniture. In a few neighbourhoods, the authorities help to collect the stuff to be burnt to make sure that the bonfires are piled up in a safe way. However, it is the spontaneously organized beach parties in Barcelona which attract the biggest crowds. So many people try to reach the coast area about the same time that public transport usually collapses. This year, the metro had to close for some hours since the authorities simply could not guarantee people’s safety on the overfull platforms.
Personally, I have no need to go to the beaches of Barcelona for Sant Joan. I am always horrified with the pictures of tons of litter being cleaned away the day after. Our new au-pair went somewhere close to Port Olímpic with her friends, but they left early with a comment that there were too many strange people there. It might be an old tradition to jump over fire on this supposedly magic night, but I am not sure that I see the beauty in it when most people who do it are either overly drunk or high on drugs.
My guests and I had planned for a calmer celebration. I did not find any recommendations of typical Sant Joan main courses, but since my friends come from the landlocked Czech Rebpublic, it was easy for me to impress them with fresh seafood - Girona-style monkfish ovenbaked with prawns, tomato and burnt garlic. For dessert, we had the traditional coca de Sant Joan, decorated with caramelized fruits and pine seeds. To add local flavour of the dinner, the food was accompanied by a Penedès white wine and cava for drinks. For all the success I might have had with the cooking, I could not do anything about the constant bangs and booms, repeatedly followed by angrily barking dogs.
I am not sure whether it was the wine, the noise or simply the fact that we are parents with small children, but we all got tired embarrassingly early. Many other Vilanovins did not. Before we went to bed we observed a man shooting off one firework after the other just below our balcony. He obviously enjoyed the moment, although his wife was his only audience and she seemed far less interested. It must have taken him about an hour to finish all the crackers he had bought and the scene left us - his secret Czech and Swedish spectators - totally stunned firstly by his almost childish enthusiasm but then even more by his wife’s patience, where she stood in the street with their sleeping baby in her arms.
For all the hostile atmosphere, it is Saint John the Baptist who has lent his name to the Spanish version of this originally pagan holiday. However, there still seem to be limited success in making it Christian. My guests are Catholics so I followed them to the church Sant Antoni on the actual day of Sant Joan and truly hope that what we took part in was not a well-visited mass. The congregation was small and notably old, but maybe this was only due to the fact that all young church goers had had a too active night. Some of them had not even finished the party yet. I estimated that still on the Sunday morning, loud explosions came with a time interval of less than ten minutes.
Yesterday Wednesday was the first truly calm day for more than a week. There were some odd bangs, but we are getting back to normal. Sant Joan is a beautiful holiday but, honestly, does it really have to be so noisy?
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Friday, 22 June 2007
Polònia – the proof that Catalans are special
Catalans can be difficult to joke with since they tend to be very proud people. If you feel that local culture is taken too seriously here, the satiric TV show Polònia proves that they also have the capacity to laugh at themselves. The program is a must for anyone interested in learning more about the Catalan society of today.
Catalonia is one of the richest Spanish autonomous regions. Although Madrid is doing a good job in making itself more attractive for international business, for many industries Barcelona is still the preferred location in Spain. Few other regions can match our tourism offer of a modern big city surrounded by attractive beaches as well as mountains, so Catalans have quite a few things to boast about.
However, for many foreigners living here, their pride often comes across as exaggerated nationalism. While we meet a society where Catalan clearly dominates media and all public institutions, many local people still see the their culture and language as threatened. With some of them, any comment which can be interpreted as critical provokes a strong defensive position. If you have a need to tell a Catalan that they could be more punctual or better organized, you will immediately learn how much worse people from the rest of Spain are in those aspects. If you find flaws in the way trains and air traffic works, the problems, of course, stem from the fact that these services are controlled not from here, but from Madrid, and that the decision makers spend all money in the capital.
Most likely for the different language, people from other parts of Spain call Catalans polacos, Poles, which is the reason why one of the most popular TV-shows about society here is called Polònia. What I really like about this program is that it does not deal with Catalonia as a tender plant which needs to be protected to be able to flourish in the future, but as a existing fact, strong enough to withstand critical remarks or even being laughed at.
I warmly recommend Polònia to any tourist who speaks Spanish and wants some flavour to the Catalan fet diferencial. Just like in daily life here, the program is built on constant linguistic jumps depending on each person’s background. Characters from Catalonia speak Catalan and, as can be expected, politicians are the main target. Socialist José Montilla, the president of the generalitat is easy to make fun of since Catalan is not his native tongue.
His predecessor, fellow socialist Pasqual Maragall, also shows up on a weekly basis. Barely had he left his position as president, before he started to criticize the most notable achievement during his term in office, the estatut, a charter for local independence in Catalonia. His new project is to build a European platform to in practice show that Catalonia does not depend on Spain to merit a prominent position in the world. I like his positively formulated message, but his total lack of modesty makes him a very easy target. Artur Mas, leader of the opposition CiU, is one of the many politicians who gets a simplified presentation, constantly being against whatever the Catalan government says. Finally, among the non-politicians, super-chef Ferran Adrià with his experimental cuisine and slightly odd voice is a perfect background for a caricature.
In the sketches spoken in Castillano, His Majesty the King Juan Carlos and his family make frequent appearances, usually in quite good-hearted jokes. The ghost of the old general Franco tends to be treated with the lack of respect that you can expect Catalans to feel for him and I certainly do not disagree. Mariano Rajoy, the opposition leader from PP has a neutral solid look and a good voice which could make him a difficult target. Again, a repeated funny hand movement and his notoriously negative rhetorics adds all the input which a comedian needs to build a funny character. His predecessor as the PP chairman and former prime minister, José Maria Aznar, receives a tougher treatment, especially since this formerly serious politician recently defended people’s rights to drive by car although they have drunk a bit.
Politicians world-wide have a tendency to avoid guilt of anything bad. Catalan politics has had its share of corruption scandals, as if to prove that things are not always good just because they are regional or local. On June 10, in his column in La Vanguardia, Toni Soler, the director of Polònia, pointed out that politicians seem to interpret his program in quite contradictory ways. Before it existed, some of them complained that Catalonia needed more satire for people to take regional politics seriously.
Now, when such a show not only exists but enjoys viewer numbers close to one million people, in a region of seven million in total, the message is the opposite. When the rate of blank votes and people who abstained from voting went up in recent local elections, some politicians tried to blame this on Polònia’s trivializaton of politics.
Why do not politicians worry more about their own behaviour and less about how it subsequently is interpreted in satire? For me, this TV show is one of the most sophisticated parts of the Catalan culture and it makes understand why I feel proud to form part of society here, in Polònia.
Catalonia is one of the richest Spanish autonomous regions. Although Madrid is doing a good job in making itself more attractive for international business, for many industries Barcelona is still the preferred location in Spain. Few other regions can match our tourism offer of a modern big city surrounded by attractive beaches as well as mountains, so Catalans have quite a few things to boast about.
However, for many foreigners living here, their pride often comes across as exaggerated nationalism. While we meet a society where Catalan clearly dominates media and all public institutions, many local people still see the their culture and language as threatened. With some of them, any comment which can be interpreted as critical provokes a strong defensive position. If you have a need to tell a Catalan that they could be more punctual or better organized, you will immediately learn how much worse people from the rest of Spain are in those aspects. If you find flaws in the way trains and air traffic works, the problems, of course, stem from the fact that these services are controlled not from here, but from Madrid, and that the decision makers spend all money in the capital.
Most likely for the different language, people from other parts of Spain call Catalans polacos, Poles, which is the reason why one of the most popular TV-shows about society here is called Polònia. What I really like about this program is that it does not deal with Catalonia as a tender plant which needs to be protected to be able to flourish in the future, but as a existing fact, strong enough to withstand critical remarks or even being laughed at.
I warmly recommend Polònia to any tourist who speaks Spanish and wants some flavour to the Catalan fet diferencial. Just like in daily life here, the program is built on constant linguistic jumps depending on each person’s background. Characters from Catalonia speak Catalan and, as can be expected, politicians are the main target. Socialist José Montilla, the president of the generalitat is easy to make fun of since Catalan is not his native tongue.
His predecessor, fellow socialist Pasqual Maragall, also shows up on a weekly basis. Barely had he left his position as president, before he started to criticize the most notable achievement during his term in office, the estatut, a charter for local independence in Catalonia. His new project is to build a European platform to in practice show that Catalonia does not depend on Spain to merit a prominent position in the world. I like his positively formulated message, but his total lack of modesty makes him a very easy target. Artur Mas, leader of the opposition CiU, is one of the many politicians who gets a simplified presentation, constantly being against whatever the Catalan government says. Finally, among the non-politicians, super-chef Ferran Adrià with his experimental cuisine and slightly odd voice is a perfect background for a caricature.
In the sketches spoken in Castillano, His Majesty the King Juan Carlos and his family make frequent appearances, usually in quite good-hearted jokes. The ghost of the old general Franco tends to be treated with the lack of respect that you can expect Catalans to feel for him and I certainly do not disagree. Mariano Rajoy, the opposition leader from PP has a neutral solid look and a good voice which could make him a difficult target. Again, a repeated funny hand movement and his notoriously negative rhetorics adds all the input which a comedian needs to build a funny character. His predecessor as the PP chairman and former prime minister, José Maria Aznar, receives a tougher treatment, especially since this formerly serious politician recently defended people’s rights to drive by car although they have drunk a bit.
Politicians world-wide have a tendency to avoid guilt of anything bad. Catalan politics has had its share of corruption scandals, as if to prove that things are not always good just because they are regional or local. On June 10, in his column in La Vanguardia, Toni Soler, the director of Polònia, pointed out that politicians seem to interpret his program in quite contradictory ways. Before it existed, some of them complained that Catalonia needed more satire for people to take regional politics seriously.
Now, when such a show not only exists but enjoys viewer numbers close to one million people, in a region of seven million in total, the message is the opposite. When the rate of blank votes and people who abstained from voting went up in recent local elections, some politicians tried to blame this on Polònia’s trivializaton of politics.
Why do not politicians worry more about their own behaviour and less about how it subsequently is interpreted in satire? For me, this TV show is one of the most sophisticated parts of the Catalan culture and it makes understand why I feel proud to form part of society here, in Polònia.
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Outdoor Sports Facilities in Vilanova
Vilanova i la Geltrú is far from perfect. Only in the quarters of la Geltrú are streets preserved in a way so that tourists will perceive the town as “genuinely Mediterranean”. Huge construction sites in the middle of the centre reinforce the town’s old industrial reputation. With the nature and climate we enjoy here, it is easy to picture a more attractive scenario.
I often have my doubts about how our local authorities prioritize different projects and I am repeatedly disappointed with the time it takes to finalize them. However, when you follow the political debate, you will find out that all local parties have advanced plans for how to improve the quality of life here and I like the idea of living in a town in development. Like elsewhere in Spain, much energy is spent on finding ways to attract quality tourism, but we have very tough competition. Barcelona will always beat us on culture and art. Costa Brava and Sitges have much more attractive beaches and Vilafranca del Penedès easily comes out on top for rural tourism. My recommendation for Vilanova is to focus the resources available where we have the chance to be the best – outdoor sports.
Summer is here and the air is getting more humid by the day. My wife has decided that it is too warm for jogging but I still appreciate to go for a run. Vilanova’s beach promenade is lively throughout the evening and well-illuminated so there is little danger in going out after the sun has set. Running and walking are outdoor sports where Vilanova already does very well. As if the local authorities were aware of that, they have built a number of workout stations along the beach with pictures showing how they are intended to be used. To add value to a good thing which already exists usually is a cost efficient development strategy.
Vilanova has a beautiful marina. It is dominated by small boats and until now I have been prejudiced enough to think that this is because rich people prefer to show off their yachts in more prestigious places. Last weekend, however, did our local newspaper make me understand that only with the opening of the new part of the marina will Vilanova meet the technical requirements of big boats. The port authority is working with a plan to create one of the best yacht service areas in the Mediterranean. I will be happy to follow their progess.
Already today do they offer sailing courses, an alternative for those who do not have capital to invest in their own boats. Since I easily get sea sick, I am not in a hurry to learn to sail, but if one day in the future our children would be interested, I will be fast to accept the challenge. I could think of much more boring places to spend time with my children than at the marina and the sea.
In a coastal town like this, you will expect to find football goals and beach volleyball nets on the beach and so you do in Vilanova but, unfortunately, with quite poor quality standards. The basket ball and football playgrounds you find around the platja de Ribes Roges would also need more maintenance, but this does not seem to put of the crowds of young people, many of them immigrants, who regularly make use of them. The area for petanca is sadly underused, though. I wonder if it is the young people close by or the high weeds that scare away potential players.
There is a 18 hole golf course in the north of Vilanova, close to the camping site, and as of what I have heard it is not too bad. I keep my clubs next to the computer to be reminded that there was a time when I had decided to take up this sport but, for now, with small children, we have to make do with less time consuming sports. My wife has played since she was young, so as often in ball games, it is me who is the weakest link.
Finally, my best recommendation to local politicians who want to gain quality vistors is to focus on cycling. Already today can the tourist information office provide you with a map of proposed tracks, what remains to be done is to improve the road and safety conditions for bikers. Some of the municipalities of the Garraf district have already started the work to build separate bike lanes. If these can be linked together in a proper way, they will create a fantastic network for tourists who want to go by bicycle and explore different beaches, from Sitges to Cubelles. I hope that our local politicians understand the potential gains of these relatively modest investments. They would benefit the whole of Garraf, but most of all Vilanova, by linking us to our more picturesque neighbours.
I often have my doubts about how our local authorities prioritize different projects and I am repeatedly disappointed with the time it takes to finalize them. However, when you follow the political debate, you will find out that all local parties have advanced plans for how to improve the quality of life here and I like the idea of living in a town in development. Like elsewhere in Spain, much energy is spent on finding ways to attract quality tourism, but we have very tough competition. Barcelona will always beat us on culture and art. Costa Brava and Sitges have much more attractive beaches and Vilafranca del Penedès easily comes out on top for rural tourism. My recommendation for Vilanova is to focus the resources available where we have the chance to be the best – outdoor sports.
Summer is here and the air is getting more humid by the day. My wife has decided that it is too warm for jogging but I still appreciate to go for a run. Vilanova’s beach promenade is lively throughout the evening and well-illuminated so there is little danger in going out after the sun has set. Running and walking are outdoor sports where Vilanova already does very well. As if the local authorities were aware of that, they have built a number of workout stations along the beach with pictures showing how they are intended to be used. To add value to a good thing which already exists usually is a cost efficient development strategy.
Vilanova has a beautiful marina. It is dominated by small boats and until now I have been prejudiced enough to think that this is because rich people prefer to show off their yachts in more prestigious places. Last weekend, however, did our local newspaper make me understand that only with the opening of the new part of the marina will Vilanova meet the technical requirements of big boats. The port authority is working with a plan to create one of the best yacht service areas in the Mediterranean. I will be happy to follow their progess.
Already today do they offer sailing courses, an alternative for those who do not have capital to invest in their own boats. Since I easily get sea sick, I am not in a hurry to learn to sail, but if one day in the future our children would be interested, I will be fast to accept the challenge. I could think of much more boring places to spend time with my children than at the marina and the sea.
In a coastal town like this, you will expect to find football goals and beach volleyball nets on the beach and so you do in Vilanova but, unfortunately, with quite poor quality standards. The basket ball and football playgrounds you find around the platja de Ribes Roges would also need more maintenance, but this does not seem to put of the crowds of young people, many of them immigrants, who regularly make use of them. The area for petanca is sadly underused, though. I wonder if it is the young people close by or the high weeds that scare away potential players.
There is a 18 hole golf course in the north of Vilanova, close to the camping site, and as of what I have heard it is not too bad. I keep my clubs next to the computer to be reminded that there was a time when I had decided to take up this sport but, for now, with small children, we have to make do with less time consuming sports. My wife has played since she was young, so as often in ball games, it is me who is the weakest link.
Finally, my best recommendation to local politicians who want to gain quality vistors is to focus on cycling. Already today can the tourist information office provide you with a map of proposed tracks, what remains to be done is to improve the road and safety conditions for bikers. Some of the municipalities of the Garraf district have already started the work to build separate bike lanes. If these can be linked together in a proper way, they will create a fantastic network for tourists who want to go by bicycle and explore different beaches, from Sitges to Cubelles. I hope that our local politicians understand the potential gains of these relatively modest investments. They would benefit the whole of Garraf, but most of all Vilanova, by linking us to our more picturesque neighbours.
Sunday, 10 June 2007
The spotlight is on my son – and on me
When I was in primary school in Sweden in the late 70-ies, pupils used to take turn to be the monitor of the week. Here in his Catalan school, our oldest son has just had the chance to be the protagonista de la setmana. Since he is not yet four years old, his duties were limited to be first in line when the class went out for breaks. That did not diminish how special he felt – partly thanks to me.
Children start school early in Spain. Unless you sign up your children at the age of three, you have small chances to get them into any of the good publicly financed schools. About a year ago we were very fortunate to discover our oldest son’s name on the list of children accepted to a half-private (concertada) school with a very good reputation.
To Swedes, Spanish schools come across as quite closed. From when the school day starts at 9 a.m. until it finishes at 4.45 p.m., the school gates remain locked. It feels safe that outsiders are not let in, but at the same time a bit excluding that we are not able to observe what is going on inside the class room. True, we have had individual evaluation meetings with our son’s teacher as well as a meeting with the other parents, but far from the open-doors and parents’ days which are common in Sweden.
However, maybe this is just a cultural difference on how we expect to receive information. Our son spends the whole day in school since, as typical Swedes, both my wife and I have our professional careers. Most of his class mates go home for lunch, so for parents who have the time, this allows for four, albeit short, daily meetings with the teacher. People here usually need much less of a common interest than school to start to talk to each other. It would not surprise me if my wife and I in fact are the only parents of the class who are not up-dated on what is going on. We simply have not yet learnt to make use of social networking but expect formal invitations, like in Sweden.
For the opportunity to take part in the the school activities, I looked forward to our son’s turn as protagonista. Still, these were mixed emotions because as the parent of the protagonista you are supposed to hold a class with the children. While I am used to making presentations for grown-ups in Spanish, this was the first time I had to do it for small children and, as an additional challenge, in Catalan. My wife was quite happy to avoid the Catalan part and instead put together a collage of family photos.
Luckily enough, I did get a smooth initiation. Since I had already taken a day off, I did not hesitate to help out as an accompanying parent when the teacher took the whole class for a visit to Vilanova’s train station in the morning. My son was much less intimidated by having me in the classroom than I thought he would be. I could have felt a bit hurt when he asked his teacher, and not me, for a glass of water, but I was too proud listening to his perfect Catalan.
My own language test came in the afternoon. Faithful to my plan, I started with some comments on our family’s background, but it turned out that the whole class already new that Melker is Swedish. Well, what else can you expect in a class with only two foreigners? Then we moved over to talk about how to lay a table – my personal adaptation of “my work”, a more typical presentation topic.
It turned out that, in theory, all the children were fully aware that we do not wipe off greasy hands neither on our clothes nor on the tablecovers but on paper or napkins. We practiced to put glasses, plates and cutlery in the right positions on the table and then I was not allowed to finish folding napkins before all pupils had received their own. This was time consuming but for my son this was probably the best part of it all. He was helping me by proudly presenting his class mates with napkins and other products which I had brought.
I know that our son enjoyed being protagonista for a week and above all the day when I took part in the class room. I grateful to his teacher for helping me with the language of my manuscript and, even more, for helping me out with all the words which I had not prepared but urgently needed in the middle of the presentation. Somehow I must have managed to make myself understood. Before, if I ever addressed my son in Catalan at home, he angrily informed me that “we speak Swedish here”. Now he has started to add that I am allowed to speak Catalan, as long as I do it in his school.
Children start school early in Spain. Unless you sign up your children at the age of three, you have small chances to get them into any of the good publicly financed schools. About a year ago we were very fortunate to discover our oldest son’s name on the list of children accepted to a half-private (concertada) school with a very good reputation.
To Swedes, Spanish schools come across as quite closed. From when the school day starts at 9 a.m. until it finishes at 4.45 p.m., the school gates remain locked. It feels safe that outsiders are not let in, but at the same time a bit excluding that we are not able to observe what is going on inside the class room. True, we have had individual evaluation meetings with our son’s teacher as well as a meeting with the other parents, but far from the open-doors and parents’ days which are common in Sweden.
However, maybe this is just a cultural difference on how we expect to receive information. Our son spends the whole day in school since, as typical Swedes, both my wife and I have our professional careers. Most of his class mates go home for lunch, so for parents who have the time, this allows for four, albeit short, daily meetings with the teacher. People here usually need much less of a common interest than school to start to talk to each other. It would not surprise me if my wife and I in fact are the only parents of the class who are not up-dated on what is going on. We simply have not yet learnt to make use of social networking but expect formal invitations, like in Sweden.
For the opportunity to take part in the the school activities, I looked forward to our son’s turn as protagonista. Still, these were mixed emotions because as the parent of the protagonista you are supposed to hold a class with the children. While I am used to making presentations for grown-ups in Spanish, this was the first time I had to do it for small children and, as an additional challenge, in Catalan. My wife was quite happy to avoid the Catalan part and instead put together a collage of family photos.
Luckily enough, I did get a smooth initiation. Since I had already taken a day off, I did not hesitate to help out as an accompanying parent when the teacher took the whole class for a visit to Vilanova’s train station in the morning. My son was much less intimidated by having me in the classroom than I thought he would be. I could have felt a bit hurt when he asked his teacher, and not me, for a glass of water, but I was too proud listening to his perfect Catalan.
My own language test came in the afternoon. Faithful to my plan, I started with some comments on our family’s background, but it turned out that the whole class already new that Melker is Swedish. Well, what else can you expect in a class with only two foreigners? Then we moved over to talk about how to lay a table – my personal adaptation of “my work”, a more typical presentation topic.
It turned out that, in theory, all the children were fully aware that we do not wipe off greasy hands neither on our clothes nor on the tablecovers but on paper or napkins. We practiced to put glasses, plates and cutlery in the right positions on the table and then I was not allowed to finish folding napkins before all pupils had received their own. This was time consuming but for my son this was probably the best part of it all. He was helping me by proudly presenting his class mates with napkins and other products which I had brought.
I know that our son enjoyed being protagonista for a week and above all the day when I took part in the class room. I grateful to his teacher for helping me with the language of my manuscript and, even more, for helping me out with all the words which I had not prepared but urgently needed in the middle of the presentation. Somehow I must have managed to make myself understood. Before, if I ever addressed my son in Catalan at home, he angrily informed me that “we speak Swedish here”. Now he has started to add that I am allowed to speak Catalan, as long as I do it in his school.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
Restaurants in Vilanova: El Genito - the local state-of-the-art
A good restaurant tells a story. It brings you into a certain mood, gives you an insight into a new culture, makes you feel that you are at home or, the opposite, that what you are experiencing is exclusive and unique. El Genito tells the story about Vilanova i la Geltrú. It is a place for those in our town who want to see and be seen. At the same time, it brings to the table the riches of a culinarily spoiled region.
Yesterday evening I was driving home from the outskirts of Barcelona. I was content with the day but tired and therefore quite grumpy about the congested traffic which is a recurring Friday problem on all exits from the metropolitan area. By mistake, I ended up on the national road N-340, but this turned out to be fortunate. The further away I came from Barcelona the more picturesque was the landscape. The sun had just started to set when I made the final miles to Vilafranca del Penedès, the heart of Catalonia’s white wine region. On both sides of the road, lines of grapevine were stretching over the rolling landscape. I promised myself to soon bring my family here to share the sight with them.
The low mountains which separate Vilafranca from Vilanova form a borderline between two different kinds of scenery. On the northern side you have a lush fertile agricultural landscape. When you reach the other side, in Vilanova, the weather conditions are much harsher. Here, we have got used to living with the strong wind from the sea and the big amounts of sand it sends into the town. Foodwise, however, this side is equally blessed. What can not be achieved by farming is more than compensated for by the fishery.
Driving through the region certainly got in the mood for the dinner which my wife and I had planned for El Genito for the eveing. I knew that we would be offered food specialties from the varied landscape which I had just observed from the car. As always at El Genito, the waiters presented us with two menues. The smaller one, per picar, contains the tapes – the different kinds of iberic hams, sausages and cheeses which you also find in the delicatessen counter. In the other one, per menjar, you find combined dishes for a full meal. As the simple table decorations reveal, this is a place for informal dining and you are free to mix and match between the menues.
We started with some glasses of cava in the bar and then continued with some of the day’s special recommendations. When the tallarines de Vilanova, which we thought would be pasta tossed with mussles turned out to only be mussels, I first felt a bit sorry for my wife who is usually not too fond of that. However, we both found these small, triangleshaped mussels cooked in garlic totally delicious. We also had fine potato sticks topped with a fried egg and an aubergine baked with goat cheese. All the dishes were traditional and local, with a glass of red wine as the only exception.
El Genito offers classic main courses as well, but if you stay with tapes and the specials, this place is a bargain. Our check totalled less than € 45. Reservations are absolutely needed since the restaurant fills up already in the low season. One way to get a table is to start dinner early. The delicatessen store is open already in the afternoon and you can continue from cold tapes to warm food once the kitchen opens. If you do not manage to get a table, you will be allowed to have your food in the bar, but do not count on this option, since even that area tends to be crowded.
Why do we not eat here more often? Well, to be honest, we have simply got so accustomed to international and fusion cuisine that we can not fully appreciate a homely fare, in spite of all the fresh ingredients and the genuinity of the recepies. Having said that, no other place tops El Genito's atmosphere so we will at least pass by for a glass of local cava before we go to other restaurants.
Yesterday evening I was driving home from the outskirts of Barcelona. I was content with the day but tired and therefore quite grumpy about the congested traffic which is a recurring Friday problem on all exits from the metropolitan area. By mistake, I ended up on the national road N-340, but this turned out to be fortunate. The further away I came from Barcelona the more picturesque was the landscape. The sun had just started to set when I made the final miles to Vilafranca del Penedès, the heart of Catalonia’s white wine region. On both sides of the road, lines of grapevine were stretching over the rolling landscape. I promised myself to soon bring my family here to share the sight with them.
The low mountains which separate Vilafranca from Vilanova form a borderline between two different kinds of scenery. On the northern side you have a lush fertile agricultural landscape. When you reach the other side, in Vilanova, the weather conditions are much harsher. Here, we have got used to living with the strong wind from the sea and the big amounts of sand it sends into the town. Foodwise, however, this side is equally blessed. What can not be achieved by farming is more than compensated for by the fishery.
Driving through the region certainly got in the mood for the dinner which my wife and I had planned for El Genito for the eveing. I knew that we would be offered food specialties from the varied landscape which I had just observed from the car. As always at El Genito, the waiters presented us with two menues. The smaller one, per picar, contains the tapes – the different kinds of iberic hams, sausages and cheeses which you also find in the delicatessen counter. In the other one, per menjar, you find combined dishes for a full meal. As the simple table decorations reveal, this is a place for informal dining and you are free to mix and match between the menues.
We started with some glasses of cava in the bar and then continued with some of the day’s special recommendations. When the tallarines de Vilanova, which we thought would be pasta tossed with mussles turned out to only be mussels, I first felt a bit sorry for my wife who is usually not too fond of that. However, we both found these small, triangleshaped mussels cooked in garlic totally delicious. We also had fine potato sticks topped with a fried egg and an aubergine baked with goat cheese. All the dishes were traditional and local, with a glass of red wine as the only exception.
El Genito offers classic main courses as well, but if you stay with tapes and the specials, this place is a bargain. Our check totalled less than € 45. Reservations are absolutely needed since the restaurant fills up already in the low season. One way to get a table is to start dinner early. The delicatessen store is open already in the afternoon and you can continue from cold tapes to warm food once the kitchen opens. If you do not manage to get a table, you will be allowed to have your food in the bar, but do not count on this option, since even that area tends to be crowded.
Why do we not eat here more often? Well, to be honest, we have simply got so accustomed to international and fusion cuisine that we can not fully appreciate a homely fare, in spite of all the fresh ingredients and the genuinity of the recepies. Having said that, no other place tops El Genito's atmosphere so we will at least pass by for a glass of local cava before we go to other restaurants.
Saturday, 26 May 2007
The Municipal Elections of Vilanova 2007
When still living in Sweden, one of my friends used to say that he knew of few people who took their right to vote as serious as I do. On Sunday, May 27, we will have municipal elections here in Spain and as local residents coming from another EU country, my wife and I have the right to participate, something I was determined to do. However, work has come in between and I will have to leave home for the weekend. How can I then make use of my small chance to influence the future of my adopted town?
Our rambla is currently decorated with banners expressing political messages. During the first campaign week, I approached the activists from different parties. While all of them were happy to give me their local programs, none of them asked me how I would vote. In fact, nobody asked anything at all and that is highly strange in a country where people are usually overly social. Is it far-fetched to guess that since party preferences reveal a stand point on the civil war, and since the civil war is something Spanish people prefer not to talk about, party preferences by default are more of a secret here than in, for example, my native Sweden?
This week we finally received the election documents. Being the nervous person I am, I had of course already gone to the ajuntament to double check on my rights to vote. “Just be patient”, was the answer the friendly girl there gave me. “This is Vilanova”, she added. We are currently being ruled by a three-party coalition, tripartit, of Partit Socialista de Catalunya (PSC), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and the Green Left (ICV-EUiA). I have not seen any poll results, but I have a feeling that they are quite confident to win again. The election material of PSC reached our mailbox only yesterday although today is the official last day of the election campaign.
Coming from the outside, I am highly amused about the number of opening ceremonies our local mayor from PSC, Joan Ignasi Elena, has carried out lately - first at our still empty high tech center Neàpolis and then at La Sala, the town’s totally unfinished exhibition hall for modern art. Although Elena makes great efforts to prove the results of the current government’s eight years in power, his party still calls their program noves idees. How impressive! Just imagine if they had come up with the "new ideas" a bit earlier and not now, right before the elections. They cannot complain that they have not had the time or mandate to act, can they?
On Thursday evening this week, Canal Blau – our local TV station – broadcast a debate between the five top parties. In general, I was positively surprised about the level of the presentations since all candidates made a good impression on me. The ruling mayor Joan Ignasi Elena was the calm, self-confident but still generous leader of the show. I have in fact received PSC’s party program handed over by him personally. Knowing that Spain has a lot of mayors who are best described as corrupt superstars, I must admit that I am very pleased with our mayor’s strive to have direct contact with his constituency. So far in my life, I have never seriously contemplated to vote for a left wing party, but this time I was thinking about maybe making an exception. Sadly enough for Elena, like many other mayor candidates he has decided to promise us a full service hospital, but his PSC comrades from the regional government do not support him. They admit that they will not allocate the money. What a miscalculation for Elena's local campaign.
Partit Popular (PP), which is the main opposition party to the governing socialists in the Spanish parliament, has some nationalistic tendencies which I have big problems to agree with. Still, their mayor candidate Santi Rodríguez and his friends would have had a chance to win my vote in Vilanova if it would not be for PP’s efforts on the Spanish level to turn the municipal elections into a barometer of the political opinion in the country. The president of PP, Mariano Rajoy, claims that he is making constructive proposals while the only thing Spain's socialist prime minister Zapatero is doing, is to attack PP. Rajoy seems to forget that the socialists happen to rule the country and therefore make and execute decisions on a daily basis. If anything, I think that it is PP which is stuck in negative rhetorics and a vote from them in Vilanova is therefore totally unthinkable from my point of view.
Ciutadans is a new party which made a surprise entry into the Catalan parliament in the latest regional elections. They are targeting the Spanish speakers of Catalunya and as not yet committed catalanists, my wife and me ought to be potential voters. But what happened to their alleged civic activism? While I have seen posters of Ciutadans all over towns like Barcelona, Castelldefels and Tarragona, here in Vilanova they are very rare. Their top candidate, Gustavo Vitriago, will have a problem to make it to the municipal council and since I have not managed to see him during the campaign work, I can not say that I regret it. I think that as a political newcomer you are supposed to work harder than the rest, not the opposite.
What I am left with is Esteve Orriols from Convergencia i Unió (CiU). Initially during the campaign I was concerned about CiU copying PP’s role on the Spanish level, that is to criticize the incumbent government and claim that you are a better alternative without specifying what you stand for. After having collected campaign material and seen the TV debate, I feel much more content with CiU. Elena from PSC might be a good mayor, but I cannot say that I am fond of his coalition partners. There are many things to improve on here in Vilanova and that is why I want to see a change. As I see it, local policies on health care, schools, security and above all the gigantesque ongoing housing projects need a revision. Since CiU is the only realistic alternative to the governing coalition, my vote would have gone to them.
Luckily enough for me, my wife is not as interested in following politics as I am. She might have decided not to vote if it would not be for me. On Sunday, I will be out travelling but there will be one representative from my family who will express our feeling about how Vilanova is to be run during the coming years. In politics, change for its own sake tends to be good since it reduces the risk of corruption. Let us go V.O.
Our rambla is currently decorated with banners expressing political messages. During the first campaign week, I approached the activists from different parties. While all of them were happy to give me their local programs, none of them asked me how I would vote. In fact, nobody asked anything at all and that is highly strange in a country where people are usually overly social. Is it far-fetched to guess that since party preferences reveal a stand point on the civil war, and since the civil war is something Spanish people prefer not to talk about, party preferences by default are more of a secret here than in, for example, my native Sweden?
This week we finally received the election documents. Being the nervous person I am, I had of course already gone to the ajuntament to double check on my rights to vote. “Just be patient”, was the answer the friendly girl there gave me. “This is Vilanova”, she added. We are currently being ruled by a three-party coalition, tripartit, of Partit Socialista de Catalunya (PSC), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and the Green Left (ICV-EUiA). I have not seen any poll results, but I have a feeling that they are quite confident to win again. The election material of PSC reached our mailbox only yesterday although today is the official last day of the election campaign.
Coming from the outside, I am highly amused about the number of opening ceremonies our local mayor from PSC, Joan Ignasi Elena, has carried out lately - first at our still empty high tech center Neàpolis and then at La Sala, the town’s totally unfinished exhibition hall for modern art. Although Elena makes great efforts to prove the results of the current government’s eight years in power, his party still calls their program noves idees. How impressive! Just imagine if they had come up with the "new ideas" a bit earlier and not now, right before the elections. They cannot complain that they have not had the time or mandate to act, can they?
On Thursday evening this week, Canal Blau – our local TV station – broadcast a debate between the five top parties. In general, I was positively surprised about the level of the presentations since all candidates made a good impression on me. The ruling mayor Joan Ignasi Elena was the calm, self-confident but still generous leader of the show. I have in fact received PSC’s party program handed over by him personally. Knowing that Spain has a lot of mayors who are best described as corrupt superstars, I must admit that I am very pleased with our mayor’s strive to have direct contact with his constituency. So far in my life, I have never seriously contemplated to vote for a left wing party, but this time I was thinking about maybe making an exception. Sadly enough for Elena, like many other mayor candidates he has decided to promise us a full service hospital, but his PSC comrades from the regional government do not support him. They admit that they will not allocate the money. What a miscalculation for Elena's local campaign.
Partit Popular (PP), which is the main opposition party to the governing socialists in the Spanish parliament, has some nationalistic tendencies which I have big problems to agree with. Still, their mayor candidate Santi Rodríguez and his friends would have had a chance to win my vote in Vilanova if it would not be for PP’s efforts on the Spanish level to turn the municipal elections into a barometer of the political opinion in the country. The president of PP, Mariano Rajoy, claims that he is making constructive proposals while the only thing Spain's socialist prime minister Zapatero is doing, is to attack PP. Rajoy seems to forget that the socialists happen to rule the country and therefore make and execute decisions on a daily basis. If anything, I think that it is PP which is stuck in negative rhetorics and a vote from them in Vilanova is therefore totally unthinkable from my point of view.
Ciutadans is a new party which made a surprise entry into the Catalan parliament in the latest regional elections. They are targeting the Spanish speakers of Catalunya and as not yet committed catalanists, my wife and me ought to be potential voters. But what happened to their alleged civic activism? While I have seen posters of Ciutadans all over towns like Barcelona, Castelldefels and Tarragona, here in Vilanova they are very rare. Their top candidate, Gustavo Vitriago, will have a problem to make it to the municipal council and since I have not managed to see him during the campaign work, I can not say that I regret it. I think that as a political newcomer you are supposed to work harder than the rest, not the opposite.
What I am left with is Esteve Orriols from Convergencia i Unió (CiU). Initially during the campaign I was concerned about CiU copying PP’s role on the Spanish level, that is to criticize the incumbent government and claim that you are a better alternative without specifying what you stand for. After having collected campaign material and seen the TV debate, I feel much more content with CiU. Elena from PSC might be a good mayor, but I cannot say that I am fond of his coalition partners. There are many things to improve on here in Vilanova and that is why I want to see a change. As I see it, local policies on health care, schools, security and above all the gigantesque ongoing housing projects need a revision. Since CiU is the only realistic alternative to the governing coalition, my vote would have gone to them.
Luckily enough for me, my wife is not as interested in following politics as I am. She might have decided not to vote if it would not be for me. On Sunday, I will be out travelling but there will be one representative from my family who will express our feeling about how Vilanova is to be run during the coming years. In politics, change for its own sake tends to be good since it reduces the risk of corruption. Let us go V.O.
Sunday, 20 May 2007
The Víctor Balaguer Museum – good for a rainy day
For people like my wife and me, who do not want to seem lazy or uneducated when we travel, vacation can be stressful. Before we leave for somewhere there are usually so many things to prepare first at work and then for the children at home, that we do not have the time to read guide books. Vacation mornings therefore becomes anything but calm. We take turns – one of us checking up the information we need while the other one gets the children and all their belongings ready for hours of city walks to come.
It would be a relief for us to go to a place like Vilanova. Well, at least as long as we would not plan too many daytrips to Barcelona. To be blunt, I would say that there is not anything special to see here. If someone ever claims that you have missed something important, it reveals that that person is even more obsessed with sightseeing than I am. That is not healthy, so just be happy that you spent your days in Vilanova on the beach, rather than in the dusty alleys of the town.
The risk that you will have hours of rain if you come here in the summer is minimal. However, this spring we learnt that Catalonia does not come with a sunshine guarantee, which we almost had started to believe. If this would happen to you and you start to look fordistraction , do not hesitate to go the Víctor Balaguer Museum. Unfortunately, you can not use the museum as an escape from the heat, since the opening hours allow the staff a siesta during the warmest hours of the day.
This museum is idal for children. I have only taken my oldest son here once, so far, but realized what a good place it is to explain what a museum is all about to a young child. The building looks historical in itself and there are statues and cannons right next to the entrance, as if to arouse the imagination. Once you have entered, you will find a limited number of exhibition halls, not more than any child can cope with.
If I have to comment on the details, I am afraid that my enthusiasm will wane. What collectors brought home from their journeys abroad might have fascinated their less experienced fellow countrymen a hundred years ago, but nowadays, collections of weapons from the Philippines, utensils made by American Indians or Chinese Buddha statues rather make you think of a cheap ethnic decoration stores than high culture.
The same goes for the permanent art collection where you will not find many master pieces. However, some of the paintings show what fishermen’s life could be like in Vilanova a century ago. For me and my oldest son this resulted in a discussion on “now” as opposed to “before” and also served as a reminder about the fact that the sea can be a dangerous place. The old fishing boats in the pictures add an interesting background to the modern ones you find in our harbour today.
Personally, I really like the Víctor Balaguer building as such with its decorations and open spaces and I see the library is a key on how to enjoy the museum. The room is full of historic books and very impressive, but maybe it is a blessing that we are not allowed to open and scrutinize the books as such. The façade might be a lot better than the content.
If anything, some objects of this museum serve as a reminder of how much we Europeans allowed ourselves to bring home from other countries without caring about what the native people thought about that. The most bizarre thing you will find is a mummy and it made me realize that if a museum in Vilanova can have a mummy without being famous for it, it must mean that there are plenty of mummies on display in the world. The mummy is of a five-year-old child. Do I have to add that my son found it really compelling?
It would be a relief for us to go to a place like Vilanova. Well, at least as long as we would not plan too many daytrips to Barcelona. To be blunt, I would say that there is not anything special to see here. If someone ever claims that you have missed something important, it reveals that that person is even more obsessed with sightseeing than I am. That is not healthy, so just be happy that you spent your days in Vilanova on the beach, rather than in the dusty alleys of the town.
The risk that you will have hours of rain if you come here in the summer is minimal. However, this spring we learnt that Catalonia does not come with a sunshine guarantee, which we almost had started to believe. If this would happen to you and you start to look fordistraction , do not hesitate to go the Víctor Balaguer Museum. Unfortunately, you can not use the museum as an escape from the heat, since the opening hours allow the staff a siesta during the warmest hours of the day.
This museum is idal for children. I have only taken my oldest son here once, so far, but realized what a good place it is to explain what a museum is all about to a young child. The building looks historical in itself and there are statues and cannons right next to the entrance, as if to arouse the imagination. Once you have entered, you will find a limited number of exhibition halls, not more than any child can cope with.
If I have to comment on the details, I am afraid that my enthusiasm will wane. What collectors brought home from their journeys abroad might have fascinated their less experienced fellow countrymen a hundred years ago, but nowadays, collections of weapons from the Philippines, utensils made by American Indians or Chinese Buddha statues rather make you think of a cheap ethnic decoration stores than high culture.
The same goes for the permanent art collection where you will not find many master pieces. However, some of the paintings show what fishermen’s life could be like in Vilanova a century ago. For me and my oldest son this resulted in a discussion on “now” as opposed to “before” and also served as a reminder about the fact that the sea can be a dangerous place. The old fishing boats in the pictures add an interesting background to the modern ones you find in our harbour today.
Personally, I really like the Víctor Balaguer building as such with its decorations and open spaces and I see the library is a key on how to enjoy the museum. The room is full of historic books and very impressive, but maybe it is a blessing that we are not allowed to open and scrutinize the books as such. The façade might be a lot better than the content.
If anything, some objects of this museum serve as a reminder of how much we Europeans allowed ourselves to bring home from other countries without caring about what the native people thought about that. The most bizarre thing you will find is a mummy and it made me realize that if a museum in Vilanova can have a mummy without being famous for it, it must mean that there are plenty of mummies on display in the world. The mummy is of a five-year-old child. Do I have to add that my son found it really compelling?
Restaurants in Vilanova: Lizarran – as good as genuine
And in the middle of centre of Vilanova you will find a perfect tapes bar, a genuine old place where one generation of chefs has taken over after the other in offering a varied selection of food at very competitive prices. Here you will have a chance to learn more about the local culinary traditions, but still do not have to worry about bringing your children.
A restaurants with those caracteristics would easily attract hoards of tourists. What a pity it does not yet exist! We do have some classy establishments with a special atmosphere serving typical local tapes, but these tend to charge premium prices and they are not suitable for children. Alternatively, you will find less fashionable places serving tapes at lower prices, but these are in the outskirts of the town. Finally, there is one exception, combining a bit of both. In the world of restaurant connaisseurs I am about to commit herecy – the place I will recommend to you is a franchise.
The facilities of Lizarran (address: C/ de Sant Gervasi, 41) are a fake. The rustic wooden details, the old photos on the walls and the hand written menus - everything is standardized and is being presented according to the group’s manuals. Let us now look at the positive side of things. For newcomers to a town, a branded restaurant can be a blessing, since you know what you can expect. Except for that, I admit having been to many branches of this chain and the one here in Vilanova is one of my absolute favorites.
Lizarran is a good place to go for a beer and some snacks. They have tapes, but also the more advanced Basque alternative – pintxos. These are mouthpieces of various ingredients held together by a toothpick. You will find peppers filled with cheese, serveral kinds of tortilla and sausage, fried prawns and skewers of pickled vegetables. Foreigners will experience this as authentic and different - you just grab a plate and then collect the pintxos you want by yourself. To avoid trouble with the waitors, be reminded to keep the toothpicks since it is the number and sizes of the them which will be used to calculate your check at the end of the meal. Lizarran is not expensive (price per pintxo starting from € 1) so here you can give in to the temptation to try many variations.
Pintxos are for adults. Most of them are served cold, and many of them contain spices for an acquired taste. If you turn your eyes to the menus on the walls, you will find that there also is a decent amount of warm dishes. Personally, I have a weakness for Lizarran’s patates braves while we usually order croquetes for our children. Dishes like scrambled eggs and similar indicate that this is a place for fast, sturdy meals. The down-to-earth concept combined with the affordable prices makes Lizarran a natural alternative to a lunch at home, something we regularly benefit from if Saturday shopping has taken longer than foreseen so the children are hungry while we are exhausted.
Maybe this is why Lizarran is such a popular place in Vilanova. If you plan to eat here, I recommend you to go early since the tables fill up quickly when the local people arrive in the afternoon. Look beyond the fact that this is a chain, swallow your pride and just enjoy the pintxos.
A restaurants with those caracteristics would easily attract hoards of tourists. What a pity it does not yet exist! We do have some classy establishments with a special atmosphere serving typical local tapes, but these tend to charge premium prices and they are not suitable for children. Alternatively, you will find less fashionable places serving tapes at lower prices, but these are in the outskirts of the town. Finally, there is one exception, combining a bit of both. In the world of restaurant connaisseurs I am about to commit herecy – the place I will recommend to you is a franchise.
The facilities of Lizarran (address: C/ de Sant Gervasi, 41) are a fake. The rustic wooden details, the old photos on the walls and the hand written menus - everything is standardized and is being presented according to the group’s manuals. Let us now look at the positive side of things. For newcomers to a town, a branded restaurant can be a blessing, since you know what you can expect. Except for that, I admit having been to many branches of this chain and the one here in Vilanova is one of my absolute favorites.
Lizarran is a good place to go for a beer and some snacks. They have tapes, but also the more advanced Basque alternative – pintxos. These are mouthpieces of various ingredients held together by a toothpick. You will find peppers filled with cheese, serveral kinds of tortilla and sausage, fried prawns and skewers of pickled vegetables. Foreigners will experience this as authentic and different - you just grab a plate and then collect the pintxos you want by yourself. To avoid trouble with the waitors, be reminded to keep the toothpicks since it is the number and sizes of the them which will be used to calculate your check at the end of the meal. Lizarran is not expensive (price per pintxo starting from € 1) so here you can give in to the temptation to try many variations.
Pintxos are for adults. Most of them are served cold, and many of them contain spices for an acquired taste. If you turn your eyes to the menus on the walls, you will find that there also is a decent amount of warm dishes. Personally, I have a weakness for Lizarran’s patates braves while we usually order croquetes for our children. Dishes like scrambled eggs and similar indicate that this is a place for fast, sturdy meals. The down-to-earth concept combined with the affordable prices makes Lizarran a natural alternative to a lunch at home, something we regularly benefit from if Saturday shopping has taken longer than foreseen so the children are hungry while we are exhausted.
Maybe this is why Lizarran is such a popular place in Vilanova. If you plan to eat here, I recommend you to go early since the tables fill up quickly when the local people arrive in the afternoon. Look beyond the fact that this is a chain, swallow your pride and just enjoy the pintxos.
Sunday, 13 May 2007
Vilanova - well connected, in one direction
In the competition for business and people, a lot of cities come up with funny slogans stating that they are located right in the middle, where things happen. The important thing seems to be the central location while little time is spent on critical questions whether being in the middle really matters. Vilanova i la Geltrú lies right in between Barcelona and Tarragona.
Vilanova is located 50 km south west of Barcelona and the fastest way to get here is by car. As long as you avoid peak hours, when traffic is always congested, the drive will take you 40 minutes from the centre of Barcelona or 30 minutes if you start from the Barcelona Prat airport.
The most convenient roas is the toll way C-32, which is considered a bit expensive by daily commuters (€ 4,85) but we largely have ourselves to blame, since the politicians on our side of the tunnels have not united to negotiate higher subsidies from the regional government, as has been done in other places. The only alternative is to use the old coast road (C-31). This used to be the only direct link to Sitges and Vilanova and we have heard horror stories about people having to go through the sharp curves in an ambulance. With two small children who easily get sick in the car we never hesitate to pay to go through the tunnels.
Having a car is a clear advantage for tourists who want to travel around, especially if the plan is to visit the wine and cava districts around Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. These two towns are only 15 minutes away from Vilanova, but there is no smooth train connection and the public bus service is poorly developed.
For anyone who comes to Vilanova to enjoy the beaches and only wants to make some trips to Sitges or Barcelona for the exciting contrast, public transport is fully sufficient. Rodalies, the local trains, take you to Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gracia four times an hour. I have to admit that during the last year or so, the trains on this line usually are delayed, resulting in journeys taking up to one hour rather than 45 minutes. To daily commuters, like my wife, this causes a lot of irritation, but we are being promised that the situation will soon go back to normal since it is all caused by the construction work for the AVE, due to be completed before 2008.
The newly remodeled station in Prat de Llobregat forms a part of that package and now when it has been finished we think it was worth the temporary inconvenience. This is where you change trains if you go to Vilanova from Barcelona Prat airport and families with children will appreciate that this is now an indoor station, fully equipped with lifts and escalators. When making the trip back to the airport, before you leave Vilanova, make sure that the train stops at Prat de Llobregat. Unfortunately, not all trains do and the message over the PA-system in the station is only made in Catalan and Spanish.
Rodalies stop going at midnight but that does not matter for those who want to explore true Barcelona nightlife. Since dinners start late, local people come to clubs well after midnight. Several places have 3.00 a.m. as there opening hour so you can easily keep yourself entertained until the train service starts again in the morning. For people like my wife and me, who are simply not created for advanced partying, the only alternative is the night bus, leaving from Plaça Catalunya throughout the night. I am sure that we will use it some day, but so far we prefer taking turns driving the car home. Taxis in Barcelona are relatively cheap, but it will cost you € 70 if you take it all the way out here.
The only bus from Barcelona we make use of is the one from the airport. It goes once an hour and the advantage compared to the train is that you do not have to change. At the Barcelona airport, look for the sign of Mon Bus, where terminal B ends, in the direction of terminal C. Do not be discouraged if you see a Mon Bus coach stop to let passengers leave but does not let you board. That is not the bus you are waiting for but, unfortunately, the drivers are not service minded enough to tell you so. Delays are standard so have patience and feel confident there will be a bus in the end.
In short, Vilanova i la Geltú is very well connected to Barcelona, at least during daytime. To Tarragona, communication is equally efficient if you go by car. However, that is where the similarities stop. For all the history and beauty of Tarragona, Catalonia only has one centre point and that is Barcelona. When checking out the public transport networks here you will immediately find out that Tarragona is just another satellite to the Catalan capital. So if you live somewhere in between, like here in Vilanova, while commuting by public transport towards the centre is easy, that is not the case if you have to go in the other direction. However, do not let this scare you off, if you are here as a tourist. You have plenty of time and Tarragona is well worth a one-day visit. The trains are reliable - they are just not very frequent.
Vilanova is located 50 km south west of Barcelona and the fastest way to get here is by car. As long as you avoid peak hours, when traffic is always congested, the drive will take you 40 minutes from the centre of Barcelona or 30 minutes if you start from the Barcelona Prat airport.
The most convenient roas is the toll way C-32, which is considered a bit expensive by daily commuters (€ 4,85) but we largely have ourselves to blame, since the politicians on our side of the tunnels have not united to negotiate higher subsidies from the regional government, as has been done in other places. The only alternative is to use the old coast road (C-31). This used to be the only direct link to Sitges and Vilanova and we have heard horror stories about people having to go through the sharp curves in an ambulance. With two small children who easily get sick in the car we never hesitate to pay to go through the tunnels.
Having a car is a clear advantage for tourists who want to travel around, especially if the plan is to visit the wine and cava districts around Vilafranca del Penedès and Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. These two towns are only 15 minutes away from Vilanova, but there is no smooth train connection and the public bus service is poorly developed.
For anyone who comes to Vilanova to enjoy the beaches and only wants to make some trips to Sitges or Barcelona for the exciting contrast, public transport is fully sufficient. Rodalies, the local trains, take you to Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gracia four times an hour. I have to admit that during the last year or so, the trains on this line usually are delayed, resulting in journeys taking up to one hour rather than 45 minutes. To daily commuters, like my wife, this causes a lot of irritation, but we are being promised that the situation will soon go back to normal since it is all caused by the construction work for the AVE, due to be completed before 2008.
The newly remodeled station in Prat de Llobregat forms a part of that package and now when it has been finished we think it was worth the temporary inconvenience. This is where you change trains if you go to Vilanova from Barcelona Prat airport and families with children will appreciate that this is now an indoor station, fully equipped with lifts and escalators. When making the trip back to the airport, before you leave Vilanova, make sure that the train stops at Prat de Llobregat. Unfortunately, not all trains do and the message over the PA-system in the station is only made in Catalan and Spanish.
Rodalies stop going at midnight but that does not matter for those who want to explore true Barcelona nightlife. Since dinners start late, local people come to clubs well after midnight. Several places have 3.00 a.m. as there opening hour so you can easily keep yourself entertained until the train service starts again in the morning. For people like my wife and me, who are simply not created for advanced partying, the only alternative is the night bus, leaving from Plaça Catalunya throughout the night. I am sure that we will use it some day, but so far we prefer taking turns driving the car home. Taxis in Barcelona are relatively cheap, but it will cost you € 70 if you take it all the way out here.
The only bus from Barcelona we make use of is the one from the airport. It goes once an hour and the advantage compared to the train is that you do not have to change. At the Barcelona airport, look for the sign of Mon Bus, where terminal B ends, in the direction of terminal C. Do not be discouraged if you see a Mon Bus coach stop to let passengers leave but does not let you board. That is not the bus you are waiting for but, unfortunately, the drivers are not service minded enough to tell you so. Delays are standard so have patience and feel confident there will be a bus in the end.
In short, Vilanova i la Geltú is very well connected to Barcelona, at least during daytime. To Tarragona, communication is equally efficient if you go by car. However, that is where the similarities stop. For all the history and beauty of Tarragona, Catalonia only has one centre point and that is Barcelona. When checking out the public transport networks here you will immediately find out that Tarragona is just another satellite to the Catalan capital. So if you live somewhere in between, like here in Vilanova, while commuting by public transport towards the centre is easy, that is not the case if you have to go in the other direction. However, do not let this scare you off, if you are here as a tourist. You have plenty of time and Tarragona is well worth a one-day visit. The trains are reliable - they are just not very frequent.
Restaurants in Vilanova: Beverly Hills – as American as it sounds
Restaurants in Vilanova serve Catalan food, Spanish food and Mediterranean food. After some days, many tourists from Northern Europe will start to look for alternatives, especially when the children have eaten croquetes for the third day in a row. Beverly Hills is our city centre’s American alternative. And it is a good place for children – maybe too good.
Before learning to know Vilanova, my wife and I were quite critical about the restaurant offer. This is still a traditional Catalan town and people prefer local food. Furthermore, it is a small town so we were unfair in complaining that we did not find as much variation as we had done in big cities where we had lived before. Already after some months here did we start to discover good places with a more international cuisine and there are plenty of promising places where we simply have not been yet.
One of the places which we found early but disregarded for a long time was Beverly Hills (address: Rambla Principal 80; phone: 93 814 32 68). More than once did we make negative comments about the place being a bad copy of an American diner. I was also moaning about the fact that they have very few dishes not containing meat. But then, one day, it struck my wife that there was a lot of American food which she had missed since we came here. Caesar’s salads and proper hamburgers served as nice dishes and not only as fast food.
Once we had dared to admit the problem to ourselves, we knew where to go for a solution. Beverly Hills offers Tex-Mex starters, a rich selection of hamburgers plus some toasts and salads. We certainly prefer food of higher quality and more attention to detail, but this is good value for money.
The interior of the indoor restaurants carries American artefacts and if you walk through the building, there is a small patio with some outdoor tables on the other side. Except for being hygienic, the paper placemats on the tables give you a chance to study a map of the real Beverly Hills and memorize the addresses of movie stars. I like to find more sophisticated table decorations but understand that the management here might see little value in it. This establishment caters to children and that tends to result in a rough treatment.
During our last visit to Beverly Hills we got a new perspective on the dining culture in Catalonia. Restaurants with local food open their kitchens at 8.30 p.m. or later, which makes this place unique for those who want an early dinner. Apparently, even Spanish families with children do and although I often praise children friendly restaurants, this time we got a bit too much action. Our children are usually calm when we go out, but now we know that it only takes a few other children to trigger their energy.
Our oldest son likes experimenting with things and usually we even encourage it, but we were not at all that proud when, halfway through the main course, he managed to switch of all the lights in the outdoor area just by screwing a bit on one of the colourful lamps covering the wall. Since the lights could not be made to work again, we were lucky that that there were some back-up lamps to switch on so that we and the other guests could finish our meals. Beverly Hills is different and special, so we will come back, but only when we feel sure that the staff will not recognize us any longer.
Before learning to know Vilanova, my wife and I were quite critical about the restaurant offer. This is still a traditional Catalan town and people prefer local food. Furthermore, it is a small town so we were unfair in complaining that we did not find as much variation as we had done in big cities where we had lived before. Already after some months here did we start to discover good places with a more international cuisine and there are plenty of promising places where we simply have not been yet.
One of the places which we found early but disregarded for a long time was Beverly Hills (address: Rambla Principal 80; phone: 93 814 32 68). More than once did we make negative comments about the place being a bad copy of an American diner. I was also moaning about the fact that they have very few dishes not containing meat. But then, one day, it struck my wife that there was a lot of American food which she had missed since we came here. Caesar’s salads and proper hamburgers served as nice dishes and not only as fast food.
Once we had dared to admit the problem to ourselves, we knew where to go for a solution. Beverly Hills offers Tex-Mex starters, a rich selection of hamburgers plus some toasts and salads. We certainly prefer food of higher quality and more attention to detail, but this is good value for money.
The interior of the indoor restaurants carries American artefacts and if you walk through the building, there is a small patio with some outdoor tables on the other side. Except for being hygienic, the paper placemats on the tables give you a chance to study a map of the real Beverly Hills and memorize the addresses of movie stars. I like to find more sophisticated table decorations but understand that the management here might see little value in it. This establishment caters to children and that tends to result in a rough treatment.
During our last visit to Beverly Hills we got a new perspective on the dining culture in Catalonia. Restaurants with local food open their kitchens at 8.30 p.m. or later, which makes this place unique for those who want an early dinner. Apparently, even Spanish families with children do and although I often praise children friendly restaurants, this time we got a bit too much action. Our children are usually calm when we go out, but now we know that it only takes a few other children to trigger their energy.
Our oldest son likes experimenting with things and usually we even encourage it, but we were not at all that proud when, halfway through the main course, he managed to switch of all the lights in the outdoor area just by screwing a bit on one of the colourful lamps covering the wall. Since the lights could not be made to work again, we were lucky that that there were some back-up lamps to switch on so that we and the other guests could finish our meals. Beverly Hills is different and special, so we will come back, but only when we feel sure that the staff will not recognize us any longer.
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